The Saturday crash resulted in the death of pilot Thomas Slocum, 49, from Hart and injuries to passenger Matt Williams, 28, also from Hart. Williams remained at a Grand Rapids hospital Monday where he had been airlifted from the scene.

He suffered broken bones, but is believed to be OK, according to Oceana County Sheriff’s Office Lt. Craig Mast.

Mast said the cause of the crash is under investigation and an investigator from the FAA was out at the crash scene Sunday afternoon.

He wasn’t able to determine yet what caused the helicopter to crash into the swampy area. The investigation will continue this week, Mast said.

Slocum was flying his privately owned 1955 Bell Rotorcraft helicopter with Williams when it crashed in a large federal forest area known locally as Tanner's Swamp, Mast said.

The helicopter, is “relatively valuable” and investigators believe it was worth up to $250,000. It remains in several pieces in the swamp area and may not be able to be retrieved anytime soon, Mast said.

“I don’t know if or when it can be recovered. It’s in a very difficult spot to get to,” Mast said. “They might be able to get there on foot or with some logging apparatus, but we may not be able to get it and may never know why it crashed.”

Following the crash, Williams managed to call to 911 from his cell phone, according to authorities.

The coordinates from the phone's GPS helped rescuers find the crash site around 4:17 p.m. Saturday, Mast said. The site was located approximately two miles from the nearest road, 168th Avenue, near Walkerville.

A U.S. Coast Guard helicopter and an Aero Med helicopter also responded to help locate the crash site along with several local fire departments and rescue personnel.

Slocum was pronounced dead at the scene. It was extremely difficult for rescuers to get the men due to the nature of the swamp, Mast said.

Because of the large trees around the crash site, the Coast Guard could not lower a rescuer to the men from a carriage, Mast said.

“The idea was tinkered with. But there are 40-50 foot trees everywhere,” he said."It was too risky."

Rescuers went down a two-track road off 168th Avenue for about three-quarters of a mile and then made their way another 300 to 400 yards to the crash site, Mast said. The men had to be carried over 1,000 feet to reach their vehicles, he said.